Core winding machine



March 14, 1944. T. L wlNEsTocK CORE WINDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet lFiled May 20, 1941 March 14, 1944. T. 1 wlNEsTocK CORE WINDING MACHINEFiled May 2o, 1941 4 sheets-sheet 2 March 14, 1944. T. L. WINESTOCK COREwINnING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor" Tl-weodore L. Winestoclf( b5 f. Hittorneg.

Mardi 14, 1944-' T. L. `wlNEs-rocK v 2,344,337

CORE WINDING'MACHINE Filed May 20. 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 InventorTheodore LwineSt-,OCK by LMWLWJMM His Attorn Patented Mer. 14, 1944`2,344,337

UNITED' sTATEs PATENT oFFlcE CORE WINDING MACHINE Thodore L. Winestock,Lenox, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of NewYork Application May 20, 1941, Serial No. 394,333

13 Claims. (Cl, 242-4) My invention relates to strip coilingarrangenetic properties of the material. After the coils ments. of striphave been annealed they are applied to It is an object of my inventionto provide imthe conductive winding structure. This involves provedmethods and apparatus for rapidly coilunwinding the strip and rewindingit around the ing magnetic strip material tightly into non-cirwindinglegs of the electrical or conductive windcular coils of a predeterminedsize having spacers ing structure. Duringr the unWinding step the atpredetermined portions of the coil, with means spacers drop Out.Nevertheless, after the coil for feeding in spacersat the proper timeand of strip has been rewound around the conductive holding them inplace until wound in, carrying winding leg, it has the same size andshape as out the operation with safety to the operator l0 when annealed,the respective turns have the and requiring but negligible attention onthe part same sizes and shapes as in the original coil of of theoperator. strip, and the portions of strip material are in The objectsof my invention include also the the saine consecutive order in the coreof the provision of mechanical and pneumatic sheet completedelectromagnetic induction apparatus material manipulatingv arrangements,arrangeas in the original coil of strip as annealed.

ments for reducing variations in peripheral speed One of the specificobjects 0f my ntentiOn iS in non-circular coiling, arrangements forshutto provide arrangements for rapidly and ecoting down the apparatusin response to exhausn nomically, as Well as accurately, inserting thetion of material to be fed or in case of emergency, spacers in the coilof strip as it is being wound and arrangements for adjusting theapparatus 2 on an arbor preparatory t0 being annealed to accommodatestrips or coils of different di- A better understanding of the inventionwill mensions. be afforded by the following detailed description Otherand further objects and advantages will considered in connection withthe accompanying becomek apparent as the description proceeds. drawings,and those features of the invention In acopending application of JacobJ. Vienwhich I believe to be novel and patentable will neau, serial No.318,868, med February 14, 1940, `be pointed out in the claims appendedhereto.

Electromagnetic induction apparatus and meth- In the drawings Fig. 1 isa perspective View.`

od of making the same, assigned to the same partially schematic, 0fapparatus fOr ccilinS assignee as the, present application, and whichmagnetic strip material into magnetic cores. issued as' Patent No.2,305,649 on December 22, 3., which apparatus forms one embodiment of my1942, there is described a transformer or reactor invention; Fig. 2 isa, fragmentary sectional view having a core composed of magnetic stripmateof a guide for the magnetic strip material shown rial spirally woundilatwise to form a hollow nonas cut by a vertical plane, with afragmentary circular cylinder. AThe cores specically shown side view ofthe strip; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary 'therein by Way of illustration areelongated, 35 sectional view of the strip guide shown as cut eithersubstantially elliptical or oblong, having by a horizontal plane with afragmentary top spaces `in the ends or short sides of the core, whileview of the strip; Fig. 4 is a detailed side view close surface contactis maintained between ad` of a pneumatic spacer pickl1p arm constitutingjacent layers of strip in the remaining portions a part of the apparatusof Fig- 1; Fig. 5 is a deof the turns of strip. The close surfacecontact tailed top view of the apparatus of Fig. 4 shown is desirablefor the sake of giving the core low partially in section as Cut by theplane 5, 5 of magnetic reluctance in order to have low mag- Fig. 4; Fic6 iS a View 0f a broken Section cut netizing current in the transformer.The spaces by the planes 6, 6 of Fig. 4 looking in the direcipetweenlayers of Strip at a certain portion of tion of the arrows; Fig. 7 is afront elevation the turn are provided to facilitate the assembly (lL-ofan indexing mechanism at the front of the of the core with preformed andpreinsulated apparatus of Fig. l, provided for controlling the'form-wound conductive' winding structures. As insertion of spacers atproper intervals in the explained in the aforesaid Vienneau patentapstrip core as it is being coiled; Fig, 8 is a left plication, thespaces in the coiled core are obside elevation, partially in section, ofthe mechatained by winding spacers or pieces of sheet metal nisrn ofFig. 7, Seen as cut by the piane 8, 8 of into the coil of strip whenitis originally formed Fig. 7 looking in the direction of the arrows; tothe desired shape. Such an original coil of Fig. 9 is a fragmentarybroken sectional view of strip containing spacers is annealed in orderto a linkage guiding cam slot arrangement constiremove the mechanicalstrains introduced by the tuting a part of the mechanism of Figs. 7 and8 coiling process, and to restore the favorable magshown as cut by theplanes 9, 9 of Fig. 7, and

as seen from above; Figs. i te 13, inclusive, are explanatory diagramsshowing various stages in a cycle of operation of the apparatus of Fig.1; Fig. represents the stage of the operation with cams and other partsof the apparatus in the position illustrated in Fig. 1, at which stage aspacer is about to be placed against the strip; Fig. 11 represents thestage at which the spacer is placed against the strip; Fig. 12represents the stage at which the spacer pick-up arm has dropped inorder to pick up a spacer from a hopper containing the spacers; Fig. 13represents the stage at which the hopper has been retracted to enablethe spacer pick-up arm to pick up the top spacer in the stack containedby the hopper; Fig. 14 is a plan view of a coil of strip completelywound around a mandrel with spacers inserted at only one end or narrowside of the coil; Fig. 15 is a similar view with spacers inserted atboth ends of the coil of strip; Fig. 16 is a perspective, partiallyexploded, view of an arrangement for quickly clamping the mandrel to theturntable of the coiling machine of Fig. 1 in an easily releasablemanner: Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a xture for bending the ends ofthe strip to shape before cutting oil to facilitate the start of thenext coil of strip, and Figs. 18 and 19 are diagrams illustrating themanner ef using the fixture of Fig. 17. Like reference characters areused throughout the drawings to designate like In the machineillustrated in Fig. 1 there is a rotatable reel II carrying a relativelylarge supply or feed roll I2 consisting of strip material from which thestrip I3 is unwound and wrapped into a coil Il around a mandrel I5secured to a turntable Il. A roller assembly II may be provided forrolling down any burrs which may have been caused by the slitting ofwide sheet material to form the strip material contained in the roll l2.'I'he burr-reducing roller assembly I1 is mounted between the supplyreel Il and the turntable I6. In the arrangement illustrated the supplyreel Il and the turntable I6 havevertical axes of rotation and aremounted above a horizontal platform or table I3 to which many of theother parte of the apparatus are secured. It will be understood,however, that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangementillustrated.

Mechanism is provided for inserting spacers at predetermined intervalsbetween layers of the coil of strip Il as it is being formed. In thearrangement illustrated spacers such as that shown at I3 are composed ofsheet material having dimensions approximating the height and width ofthe end of the mandrel I5. For convenience the spacers Il may consist ofpieces cut from a strip of material similar to the strip I3. The spacerinserting mechanism is arranged to place the spacers, one at a time.against a portion of the inner surface of the strip I3 before thatportion actually reaches the mandrel I6. The spacer-feeding mechanismincludes a pick-up arm assembly 20 with a suction cup 2l for pickingspacers from a stack 22 in a hopper 23. spacer I3, against the surfaceof the strip I3 until they are wound into the coil Il an electromagnet2l is provided which magnetizes a length of the strip I3 between theroller assembly I1 and the mandrel I5.

For increasing the accuracy with which the spacers Il are located inrelation to the peripheral length of the strip I3, a hinged gate 26 isprovided which normally rests against the inner surface of For holdingthe spacers. such as the ascesa? the strip I3,near the mandrel Il, andwhich is provided with mechanism for releasing it at the proper instantto cause the spacer to be wound in accurately at the end of the coil I4.The gate 26 is controlled electrically and for opening it at the properinstant a cam switch arrangement 36. illustrated more in detail in Fig.7, is provided. The timing of the operation of the cam switcharrangement 26 is corrected for the changing shape and angularity of thecoil I4 as it builds up, by means of an indexing arrangement which willbe described more in detail hereinafter.

The turntable I6, the gate timing mechanism 26, and the apparatusfor-operating the spacerinserting mechanism including the pick-up arm 20are all driven through suitable mechanical drives by a motor 2l. Inorder to make the peripheral speed of the strip I3 more nearly uniformas it winds on to the non-circular coil I4, a pair of elliptical gears28 and 29 is provided in the mechanical connection between the motor 2land the turntable Il.

For controlling the application of power to the apparatus by the motor21, a clutch 30 is provided having an operating foot pedal 3|, to whichis attached a spring 3|', tending to hold the clutch out of engagement.For holding the foot pedal 3| in the clutch-engaging position, aspringbiased latch 32 is provided, having a normally open circuitedsolenoid 33 acting upon a plunger for releasing the clutch electricallywhen necessary. A source of electrical current 36 is provided forenergizing the clutch releasing winding 33 when one of the switches tobe described hereinafter is closed. For manually shutting down theapparatus by releasing the clutch there is a manual switch 35. Forshutting down the apparatus when the coil I4 has been wound to theproper size. there is a counter 36 which closes a pair of contacts, notshown, when a predetermined number of turns for which the counter 36 isset have been wound on to the coil I4. In order to guard againstproducing a coil I4 having an insufficient number of spacers I9, aspacer-failure shutdown is provided including serially connectedcamoperated contacts 3l and vacuum-failure operawd contacts 33, whichenergize the clutch releasing winding 33 when both contacts 31 and 3lare closed.

To facilitate quickly securing the mandrel Il to the turntable I6 andeasily releasing it, the clamping arrangement illustrated in Fig. 16 isprovided; To facilitate the cutting of! of the strip after a coil hasbeen completely formed and for suitably bending the end of the stripwhich will form the beginning end of the next coil, the bending fixtureshown in Fig. 17 is provided.

To simplify the drawings and permit condensing the explanation,apparatus has been illustrated for winding only a single coil I4 andhandling only a single strip I3. It will be understood, however, that myinvention is not limited to this speciilc arrangement and that variousparts, such as the reel I I, the turntable I6, and the spacer feedingmechanism, may be duplicated to provide for simultaneous coiling ofidentical strip cores under the control oi a single gate-controllingswitch and indexing arrangement 26 and a single counting arrangement 36driven by a single motor 3l.

The large rolls of strip material I3 are ordinarily received in thatform from the mill, and it will be understood that it is advantageous toconstruct the reel Il in such a manner that the top flange 38 mayreadily be removed, in order v with the heads I8 of take the form ofpneumatic or mechanical brake acting with automatically controlled shoe48 is carried by a pivoted arm 42 which is connected to one end of aspring 43 secured at the other end to the table I8 in order to maintaina predetermined pressure between the brake shoe 48 and the roll I2.

The roller assembly I1 includes a pair of rollers 44 between which thestrip I3 is drawn. The rollers 44 are mounted in a frame 45 which inturn is pivotally secured to a pivotally mounted bracket 46. Theroller-carrying frame 45 includes a yoke mechanism 41 with rods bearingagainstvjournals of the rollers 44 in order to maintain a predeterminedprovided such as nuts 48. For cleaning scale and other foreign matterfrom the surfaces of the rollers 44, wiping blades 48 and 58 areprovided which are spring-pressed against the rollers 44.

The roller-carrying frame 45 has an extension I toward the supply reelII which has an opening shaped to receive the strip I3 and guide itbetween the rollers 44. The extension 5I (Figs. l, 2, and 3) serves alsoto align the roller-carryf ing frame 45 at such an 'angle as to maintainthe sion 5I to receive the strip-guiding inserts 52. For varying theheight at which the rolleri'rame 45 is supported, a. suitable screw orrack arrangement operated by a crank 54 and carrying the bracket 48,vmay be provided. The bracket 46 is preferably mounted to have ahorizontally pivoted axis in dom to the strip I3 inl maintaining itsnatural alignment in passing from the roll I2 to the coil I4.

'I'he turntable I8 is carried by a vertical shaft suitably Journaled ina bushing or bearing 55 secured to the table I8, and a bearing 56 formedin a lower horizontal plate or 'shelf 51. For reducing weight and costthe mandrels I5 are ordinarily made hollow and in order to provide ameans for fastening the mandrels to the turntable I8 which means may besecured and released easily, the turntable I6 may be provided with twovertical posts 68 and 58 secured thereto to cooperate with two openings88 and 8| in the mandrels I 8. For clamping the mandrel I5 to theturntable I8 each of the posts 58 and 58 may be provided with projectingrods with overhanging yor buttonshaped heads 62 and 63 and a notchediiat bar 64 may be provided with a threaded opening 65 to cooperate witha screw 66. The bar 64 has slots 61 and 68 adapted to fit under theheads 62 and 63 and the screw 66 has a handle 69 for rotating the screw66 to drive the lower end 18 againstl the top of the bridging portion I5of the mandrel I5 when the bar 64 is fitted under the screw heads 62 and63. The apparatus is limited to handling mandrels of a particular sizeas the posts 58 and 59 may be provided with threaded holes 58 tofacilitate bolting on llers to increase the sizes of the posts toaccommodate any desired size of mandrel.

The spacer feeding arrangement includes the sliding hopper 23 and thepivoted pick-up arm assembly 28 illustrated in Figs. l and 10 to i3. Thehopper 23 is in the form of an inclined box example, by means of rollers1I rotatably secured to the hopper 23 and pairs of stationary rails 12between which the rollers 1I and the sides oi' the hopper 23 areslidably held. The rails 12 are secured to the table I8 of the machinein a suitable manner, not illustrated. For controlling the movement ofthe sliding hopper 23 there is an arm 13 pivotally secured at the lowerend to the hopper 23 and having a cam follower 14 at its upper end. Ahopper retracting cam 15 is provided to cooperate with the cam follower14. To hold the upper end of the arm 13 in place slidably, it may beformed with an elongated opening 16 through which a cam shaft 11 passes.

The pick-up arm'assembly 28 is represented in Figs. l and l0 to 13 andillustrated more -in detail in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. This assemblycomprises an outer sleeve member 18 and a. telescoping two part innermember consisting of an inner sleeve 18 and a projecting rod 88. 88carries the suction cup 2| and has a passage 88'- formed therein towhich is secured a tubular member 8I for li'orrning a connection betweena pneumatic hose 82. The suction cup 2| is composed of a suitableresilient material such as soft iently biasing the inner sleeve membertoward the pivot axis 83. The inner end of the rod 88 is made hollow andcontains a compression spring 88 to permit the projecting end of the rod88 to yield when the inner sleeve member 'I8 is pushed longitudinallyforward in a manner which will be explained hereinafter. For limitingrelative movement of the rod 88 and the inner sleeve member 18, thelatter may be provided with a. slot 'I'he end of the rod` which isclosed at the forward end 30. and the rod 30 may have a transverse pin0|, secured therein, which projects into the slot 09 of the inner sleevemember 19 but does not engage the inner surface of the outer sleevemember 10.

For giving the spacer pick-up rod 80 both angular and longitudinalmovement, two different cam arrangements are provided. The angularmovement is provided by a lifting cam assembly consisting of a liftingcam 92 carried Iby the main cam shaft 11, a cam ollower 93, and an arm04 pivoted to the outer sleeve member 10. The outer-'sleeve member 10has secured thereto a forked ear pivotally holding one end of the arm 94and the other end of the arm 94 is provided with an elongated opening 9Bthrough which the cam shaft 11 passes. 'Ihe cam 92 is so shaped as tolift the pick-up arm assembly including the rod 80 to the horizontalposition for about 50 degrees of the angular rotation of the cam shaft11 and to leave the pick-up arm assembly in the lower positionrepresented by Figs. l2 and 13 during about 180 of the angular rotationof the cam shaft 11. The remainder of the angular rotation of the camshaft 11 is consumed in the raising and lowering of pick-up arm.

The cam arrangement for producing the longitudinal motion of the rod 00of the pick-up arm assembly consists of a cam 91 carried by the uppercam shaft 03 and a cam follower 0I in the form of a roller revolving ona pin 30 (Fig. 5)

`projecting laterally from the inner sleeve member through a slot |00 inthe far side oi.' the outer tubular member 18. The transverselyprojecting pin 99 carries also a. second roller |0| which is adapted tocooperate with a stationary rail |02 represented by dotted lines in Fig.5 and omitted for simplicity from Fig. l.

The rail |02 serves for limitinglthe upward movement of the pick-up armassembly when the cam follower 58 is being pressed up by the cam 01.

The flexible hose 02 leading at one end to the suction cup 2| isconnected at the other end to a T |03 (Figs. l0-l3), which has one inletconnected to a suction valve |04 and a second inlet connected to an airpressure valve |05. The valves |04 and |05 are connected to a vacuumreservoir and an air pressure reservoir through a vacuum line |00 and apressure line |01, respectively. The valves |04 and |05 are camcontrolled having valve stems :formed at their upper ends as camfollowers |08 and |00 to cooperate with cams ||0 and III, respectively,carried by the main cam shaft 11. The cam I I0 is so shaped as to openthe vacuum valve |04 and apply suction to the suction cup 2| from thetime a spacer has been picked -up until it is in position to be placedagainst the strip I 3. The air pressure cam is so shaped as to apply airpressure to the suction cup 2| after the vacuum has been cut oi! inorder to insure ejection of the spacer I3 from the suction cup 2|, atonce.

'I'he magnet 24 for holding the spacer I0 againstthe inner surface ofthe strip I3, as the strip travels along to be wound upon the mandrelI5, has a pair of long pole pieces I|2 and ||3 of opposite polarityextending along the outside surfaces of the strip I3 near the upper andlower edges thereof (Fig. l). The pole pieces ||2 and ||3 are ofsuilicient length to magnetize all of the portion of the strip materialfrom a point slightly in back of the spacer feeding mechanism to themandrel I5. In order to obtain a strong magnetomotive force from themagnet 24, it may be made in the form of an electromagnet having a coilI I4 with an elongated opening surrounding a yoke 5 joining the polepieces I I2 and ||3.Y The pole pieces II2, ||3 and the yoke ||5 arecomposed of relatively permeable magnetic material. In order that thepole pieces I|2 and ||3 may continue to rest against the outer surfaceof the strip I3 while the non-circular mandrel I5 is being rotated, themagnet 24 is pivotally supported by means of a U-shaped bracket IIBpivoted coaxially with the point of tangency of the rollers 44 by meansof pins ||1 to suitable members such as the stationary bracket IIIsupported by the table I8 of the apparatus. A spring H6 is provided fornormally holding the electromagnet 24 toward the strip to supplementmagnet pull. For holding the pivotal electromagnet 24 out of the waywhen the apparatus is being adjusted or a new coil of strip is beingstarted, a latch ||9 may be provided pivotally supported on a post |20secured to the table Il. The electromagnet I I5 is energized by a sourceof current, not shown, and normally remains energized throughout thecycle of operation oi' the apparatus.

The spacer gate 25 is pivotally secured to a bracket |2| attached to theswinging arm carrying the electromagnet 24. In the arrangementillustrated, the bracket |2| is formed to include a sleeve bearing |22carrying a spindle |23. The lower end of the spindle |23 has an arm |24secured thereto carrying the spacer gate 25, which extends transverselyto the strip I3. The arm |24 or the spindle |23 may also carry aspringpressed roller |25 adapted to bear resiliently against the stripI3 or the spacer I9 passing thereunder in order to hold the trappedspacer against the strip I3, thus preventing it from being plucked awayby opening of the gate 25. To the upper end of the spindle |23 issecured a crank arm |26. For rotating the crank arm |26 to release aspacer by opening the gate 25, an electromagnetic plunger mechanism |21is provided consisting of a solenoid coil |28, a plunger |20, and aconnecting rod |30 joined by wrist pins to the ends of the plunger |20and the crank arm |20. 'I'he electromagnetic coil |28 for opening thegate 25 is electrically connected by means of a pair of conductors |3|and contacts of the switch arrangement 26 to the current source 34.

The switch arrangement 26, as illustrated more in detail in Fig. 7,includes a rotating cam |32 carried by an extension of the main camshaft 11. A micro-switch |33 having contacts, not shown, is operated bythe cam |32l The contacts of the micro-switch |33 are connected inseries with the conductors |3| to the current source 34. For varying thephase relationship between the angular position of the cam shaft 1`| andthe instant of switch-closing operation, the microswitch |33 is securedto a rotatable arm |34 and the angular position of the arm |34 iscontrolled by an indexing arrangement. This indexing arrangement isprovided for varying the relationship between the angular position ofthe turntable I6 and the instant of opening of the gate 25, as the coilI4 increases in size, in order to allow for the fact that the peripherallengths of the turns of strip increase and the angle of approach of thestrip changes as the size of the coil I4 increases. Since the angularityof the turns oi' strip varies from the inner layer to the outer layer ofthe coil i4, the indexing arrangement is so constructed as to introducean additional. not

28 is so positioned angularly as the arm tions, or

assess? necessarily non-linear. factor in order to keep the spacers inalignment as illustrated in Figs. i4 and 15.

. I'he indexing arrangement comprises a disk |35 driven in the samedirection as the cam |32 but at relatively low speed in proportionthereto and a linkage connecting the disk |35 to the switch-carrying arm|34. The disk |35 is Lonnected to the cam shaft 11 through a set ofchangeable speed-changing gears |36 and a. speed reduction gear box |31.A friction clutch |38 is also interposed for enabling the indexingarrangement to be reset after each coll has ben completed. In order thatany necessary devia.- tion from linearity may be introduced in the speedrelationship between the gear |35 and the cam shaft 11, the linkagebetween the disk |35 and the micro-switch carrying arm |34 is madeadjustable in length. The linkage consists of a broken connecting armconstituted by two separate arms |38 and |40 Joined by a pin |4|. Thearm |38 is pivotaliy connected to the disk |35 and the arm |40 ispivotally connected to a crank arm |42 secured to the micro-switchcarrying arm |34. One of the connecting arms, for example the arm |39,may be formed with a blfurcated end to'receive the end of the other arm|40. The pin 4| may be secured to one of the arms such |39 and is madeof sufficient length to have a projecting end |43 forming a guide pin.For guiding'the pinv |43 and thus fixing the effective length of thelinkage between the disk |35 and the crank arm |42, a plate |44 isprovided having a slot |45 cut therein and adapted to receive the guidepin |43. The cam-slot plate |44 is removably secured to the supportingstructure of the indexing arrangement in any suitable manner as by meansof bolts |46. Different plates, such as the plate |44, are providedhavingl cam slots of different shapes cut therein to provide for thecoiling of strip cores having different shapes with different degrees ofangularity. The arrangement is such that when a coil. of strip isstarted on the mandrel I5, the guide pin |4| is at the upper end of thecam slot 45, as illustrated, and when the coil has been completed, theguide pin I 4| has moved toward the lower end of the cam slot |45.' Inorder to return the indexing arrangement to the starting position, acrank handle |41 may be provided to which it is connected by means of aspindle |48 and a pinion |43 meshing with teeth cut in a portion of theperiphery of the disk |35. It Will be understood that only a fraction|35 is required.

The mechanical power for operating the apparatus is provided by thedriving motor 21 which is connected to the driving side of the clutch 30by means of a belt |50 in the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1. Thedriving side of the clutch 30 is connected to a shaft I5I mounted in agear box |52. Power is taken from the gear box |52 through an. outputshaft extending in two direca pair of shafts |53 and |54 whichextend'from the gear box |52. The shaft |53 supplies power to rotate theturntable I 6 and the shaft |54 indirectly drives the cam shafts.

Themechanical connection between the power shaft i53 and the turntableI6 includes the elliptical gears 28 and 29, one of which is connected tothe shaft |53 and the other of which is connected to a shaft |55 whichis in turn connected by pairs of bevel gears |56 and |51 to a verticalshaft I 58 carrying the turntable I6. The elliptical gear on its shaft|53 in of a revolution of the disk sprocket arrangement |58. In order topermit relation tc the angular position of the turntable I l as toreduce the angular speed of the turntable I8 relatively when the mandrelI5 is in the position withk the greatest radius perpendicular to thestrip Il as illustrated in Fig. 1, and to increase the angular speed ofthe turntable I6 relatively when it is in the angular positionperpendicular to the position shown, at which the radius is a minimum.vIn this manner the speed of travel of the strip I3 is made more nearlyuniform, minimizing acceleration and deceleration of the heavy roll I2;and the tendency for the magnet 24 to slap the coil I4 as the mandrel |5rotates from the short side to the long side, or vice versa, isminimized. I found that satisfactory results for this purpose may beobtained by utilizing gears 28 and 20 which are actually circular butwhich are eccentrically mounted on the shafts |53 and |55 respectively.

The power from the shaft |56 is communicated to the cam shaft 11 bymeans of a chain and changing the number of spacers linserted inthestrip coil I4. that is to say. to permit changing the interval at whichthespacers are inserted, I may provide a set of speed-changing gears |60and a change speed gear shift lever |8I. In the arrangement illustratedthis consists of a pair of pinions |62 and |63 secured to the drivingshaft |54 in auch manner as to be rotatable therewith but longitudinallymovable as by means of a spline |64. Cooperating with the pinions |62and |63 are gears |65 and |66 secured to the driven shaft connected tothe chain and sprocket arrangement |53.

In the arrangement illustrated the ratio between diameters of gears |62and |66 is 1:2, and the ratio-between the gears |63 and |66 is 1:3, sothat the speed of the cam shaft 11 may be made either one-half orone-third that of the Aaverage speed of the turntable I6, since a 1:2speed reduction is provided by the bevel gears |51. Accordingly, thearrangementyas specifically illustrated provides for placing a spacereither once in each turn of the coil of strip I4, or once for each oneand one-half turns of the turntable I6.` Thusl the spacers will beplaced either all at one end of the coil of strip or at both ends,according to whether the speed ratio between the shaft |54 (double theturntable speed) and the cam shaft 11 is an even integer or an oddinteger. For the reasons explained in the aforesaid patent applicationof Jacob J. Vienneau, it is ordinarily desirable to place the spacersonly lat the ends or short sides of the rectangular mandrel I5. However,my invention is not limited to the specific arrangement illustrated andis not limited to the gear ratios shown which give the frequency ofinsertion of spacers represented by Figs. 14 and 15.

In the arrangement illustrated, the main cam shaft 11 and the upper camshaft 83 are mechanically connected to rotate at the same speed and inthe same direction by means of gears |61 and |68 connected to the shafts11 and 83, respectively, and meshing with an idler gear |69.

As already explained, the upper cam shaft 83 less of his position at thetime.

the tending of several machines by a single oper- 11 drives the indexingarrangement through the speed changing gears |30.

As already explained, the clutch-latch `releasing solenoid Il has amanual switch 35 for energizing it to disengage the clutch III. Themanual switch l is shown in conventional form for the sake of simplicitybut is preferably in portable form of the type, which may be held in thehand and carried about, having flexible conductors |1| and |12 ofconsiderable length for' electrically connecting it to the wiring of thestrip coiling apparatus. This permits the operator to observe theoperation of the machine from any position and to shut it down in caseof necessity regard- It also facilitates ator, who carries all of themanual shut-down switches. such as the switch II, with hun as he movesabout observing the operation of the various machines and starting newcoils while the other machines 'are automatically .winding coils ofstrip which have already been started. It is not necessary for theoperator to shut down the machines .when the machine in question haswound the desired number of turns on the coil of strip since thisfunction is performed by the counter 8l. The counter It is a device of atype well known to those skilled in the art which closes an electricalcircuit after a predetermined number of turns has been counted andincludes an adjusting arrangement for setting it for any desired n er ofturns to facilitate winding strip coils of di erent sizes.

As already explained, the apparatus includes an electrical circuitarrangement for shutting down the operation when there is a failure forany reason to pick up the spacer to be inserted in coil. As stated, thisincludes the contacts l1 and n which connect the solenoid coil Il to thecurrent source 3l when both contacts I1 and Il are closed. The contacts31 are relatively movable under the control of an arm |13 adapted to bemoved by the cam which is so shaped as to close the contacts 31 whilethe vacuum valve operating cam Ill is in the latter part of its vacuumvalve opening position and to open the contacts l1 again before thevacuum valve IM has been closed. The contacts il are part of a vacuumswitch includinga bellows or diaphragm I1! which springs outwardly andcloses the contacts Il whenever there is a fail- .,ure of maintenance ofvacuum in the line |06 which would occur even 'though the vacuum valveIM were open, if the suction cup 2| was also open to atmosphere byreason of having failed to pick up a spacer, which might occur in t casethe operator had overlooked placing a suincient supply of spacers 22 inthe hopper 23.

The bending ilxture illustrated in Fig. 17 consists oi' a strip |18having a bent end |11 conforming to the shape of the rounded corners ofa nearly iinished coil of strip and a fiat end Ill, to which is secureda block |19 which may be braced if desired by means of a rib I'IIIsecured in any suitable manner as by welding to tha strip end |18 andthe block |19. If the strip |18 is not of the same width as the stripmaterial I3, a centering piece |8| may also be secured to the strip |16.The parts |19 and IBI are of a length preferably equalling the width ofthe strip material Il which is formed into the coils of strip il. Theblock |19 has a beveled edge |82 with a sharpened corner |83 for bendingthe end portion of the strip material beyond the point of cut-oi! of thefinished coil of strip,

assess? The i'i'rst operation of the operator after cutting the stripwhen a strip coil has been completed and after removing the completelywound coil of strip is to place a new mandrel over the posts 5l and 58and to clamp it down by means of the screw I8 and its handle 63. Thenthe operator places the bent end Ill of the cut strip around one cornerof the mandrel. The end has been bent by the fixture of Fig. 17, justbefore cutting the strip upon completion of the previously wound stripcoil. The operator thereupon starts the apparatus by depressing theclutch pedal 43| and allows the turntable Il to take on or two turns tohold the end of the strip in place. It will be understood, of course,that the operator has placed a suillciently large stock of spacers 22 inthe hopper 23 to permit winding a complete coil of strip i4. As thestripis fed from the roll I2 and passes through the mouth of the rearextension of the roller frame 4l, it passes between the rollers Il whichroll down any burrs and overcome any irregularities in the fiatness orthickness of the strip material I3. The wiping blades ll and ll keep therollers 44 clean and thus prevent uneven stretching and extension of thesteel, which would make impossible a rightly wound core. The strip thenpasses the pole pieces I2 and lil of the spacer-holding electromagnet 24and coils around the mandrel I5, which is being rotated by the turntableIl. At proper intervals determined by the speed ratio between the driveshaft and the cam shafts, a spacer I9 is placed against the strip Il andheld in place by the magnetization of the magnet 24. Whenever theturntable II has reached the proper angular position the gate 25 opensto permit the spacer il to continue traveling and to be wound into thecoil of strip I4 at one end or the other oi.' the mandrel Ii.

The sequential operation of the cams for producing a desiredmanipulation of the spacers is represented in Figs. 10 to 13. Thedirection of rotation of the cams is indicated by arrows. In Fig. 1 andin Fig. 10 the apparatus is shown in the position after a spacer hasbeen picked up by the suction cup 2| and the spacer pick-up arm has beenelevated to the horizontal position. As indicated by the arrows in Fig.l0, it will be observed that the cams are rotating in thecounterclockwise direction and that the cam l2 has just reached theposition at which the spacer pick-up rod Il is lifted to its uppermostor horizontal position. The cam 82 is so shaped that the pick-up armremains in this position for about 50 degrees of additional rotation andthen drops abruptly.

The spacer placing cam 91, however, has a sharper lift and within arelatively few degrees of rotation projects the inner sleeve member 1l(Fig. 6).l to the right, pushing the rod 80 also to the right andpushing the spacer It against the inner surface of the strip I3. 'I'hisis represented by Flg. 11. The compression spring 8l is in thetelescoping members and permits the rod all to yield so that the spacerI9 may be placed close against the strip il without any danger ofdamaging the mechanism. At this instant the air pressure cam I|| hasopened. the pressure valve |05 admitting air under pressure to the hose82 and to the suction cup 2| to make sure that the spacer |9 will beejected from the cup 2| and will remain against the strip il. under theforce of the magnetization produced by the magnet 24. It will beobserved that in both Fiss. and 11 the vacuum valve camlll isl in aposition at which the vacuum valve is c osed.

Further rotation of the cams permits the cam follower 53 to spring back,allowing the suction cup 2| to be retracted under the force oi' thetension spring l1. It also allows the cam follower 93 to drop, whichpermits the piek-up lution-ofthe gate switch arm assembly to fall to theposition represented i' in Fig. 12, and in which the suction cup 2| isdirected toward the stack of spacers 22 in the l hopper 23. It will beseen that at this time the vacuum valve cam Hl has reached the positionopening the vacuum valve |04 so as to apply suction to the suction cup2|. Further rotation of the camsv (Fig. 13) brings the hopper retractingcam 15-to the lifting portion of its periphery so as to retract the camfollower 14 and retract the hopper 23 against the suction cup 2| so thatthe top spacer in the stack 22 will adhere to the suction cup 2|. Asfurther rotation of the cams continues, the mechanism will approach the'position represented by Fig. 10,

and Just before the position of Fig. 10 is reached,`

the vacuum is shut of! so. that the spacer I3 is held to the suction cup2| merely by the -suction retained therein. Shortly thereafter, asalready explained, the position of Fig. 11 is reached and air pressureeiects the spacer from the suction cup 2|. It is to be observed that thehopper retracted cam 'l5 has a lift of very short dura- 1 tion so thatthe hopper 23 falls back before the pick-up arm lifting cam 32 starts tnraise the pick-up arm and the spacer I9 to the position shown in Fig.10. Y

The phase relationship between the operation ofthe gate 25 and the camshas not-been mentioned in connection with the operations thus fardescribedrepresented by Figs. 10 to 13.. Although this operation musthave relationship to the angular positions of the other camspredetermined within quite wide limits, the actual angular relationshipbetween the gate switch controlling cam |32 (Fig. 7) and the other camsdepends upon the size of the mandrel l5 and the distance between 25. Itwill be understood, however, that the angular arrangement between thegate switch controlling cam |32 and the spacer pick-up operating camsmust' be such that. the spacer Il is `placed against the strip |3 beforethe gate 25 is opened by the micro-switch |33 and the time intervalbetween the placing of the spacer I3 against the strip I3 and theopening of the gate 25 must be at least as long as the time required forthe strip i3 to travel from the position opposite the spacer pick-up armto the position opposite the gate 25. This time interval may actually beconsiderably longer because thegate I5 holds the spacers in place untilthe proper time to release the spacer. This `time interval ,must in anyevent be great enough to allow for the slight variations in timing ofthe operation of the gate 25 produced by the indexing arrangementdescribed in connection with the switch 25.

As the coiling of the strip progresses, the guide pin |4| (Fig. 7)`gradually movesdown in the cam slot |45 but when the coiling of thestrip has been 'completed the guide pin |4| reaches a lower position.Before starting another coil of strip the operator manipulates the crankhandle |41 to bring the guide pin |4| back to its original position. Itwill be observed that as the guide pin |4| moves lower in the cam slot|45,

the turntable and the gatel is progressively increased so that with eachrevothe switch is closed'slightly later and the gate opens slightlylater with relation to the angular position of the turntable I5 to allowfor increasing perimeter of` the turns of strip in the coil. 'I'he camslot |45 serves to correct for the decreasing sharpness of the bends inthe strip atthe corners of the mandrel. Lack of linearity in therequired change is taken care of by the shape of the cani slot |45.

Ordinarily the switch 35 Ais set to operate slightly before the completenumber of turns of strip have'been wound on the coil |4. After theoperation of the apparatus has been shut I last turn of strip theoperator places the bending fixture of Fig. 1.7 on the coil of strip |4(as at Fig. 18). soon winding in the curved end |11 of the bendingfixture. After the strip has been wound over the sharp edge |33 of thebending fixture to form a sharp bend |34, the operator releases` theclutch pedal 3| to stop the machine and the bending xture forms a bight|85 (Fig. 19) which enables theoperator to cut the strip at the point bymeans oi' a pair of shears. The flatl end of the strip on the coil isthen'clamped down manually and may if de sired be tack welded to theunderlying layers of strip. The mandrel is then released by looseningthe clampingscrew 5l of Fig. 16 and the apparatus is ready forsubstitutionl of another mandrel. Before the apparatus is started again,

however, the hand crank |41 of the indexing arrangement is rotated tobring the guide pin |4| to the initial uppermost position inthe cam slot|45. i

In accordance with the provisions of the pattent statutes I vhavedescribed theprinciple of operation of my invention, together with theapparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof,but I desire to havev it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentmof the UnitedStates, is:

1. A coil winding machinecomprising a rotatively driven turntable, amandrel removably secured thereto, a supply roll for feeding stripmaterial to the mandrel as it is rotated, mechanism for intermittentlyplacing spacers against the inner surface of the strip material beforeit reaches the v*mandrel and an eleetromagnet having pole pieces inproximity to the strip material i'or magnetizing it and holding thespacers against the inner surface of the strip material until thespacers are wound into the coilof strip around the mandrel.

2. A coil winding machine comprising a rotatable member around whichv acoil of strip is to be wound, means for supplying strip material to Acontrolling cam |32,

termittently feeding spacers against the inner surface of the stripbefore it is wound on to the coil, means for temporarily holding suchspacers to prevent their being wound into the coil, an electricallycontrolled means for releasing such spacers at predetermined intervals,said electrically controlled means including a switch with relativelyrotatable elements one of which is driven in synchronism with themandrel, and the other of which is carried by an arm adjustable inangular position, said arm having means for gradually changing itsangular position throughout a fraction of the revolution in the courseof winding a completed coil of strip.

4. Apparatus of the type set forth in claim 3 including an index plate,and a guide pin cooperating therewith connected to the mechanism forvarying the angular position of the arm of the electrical spacerreleasing device, said index plate being shaped for varying theproportional relationship between angular movement of said arm androtation of the mandrel in accordance with a predetermined `curve tocorrect for variations in angularity of the coil of strip being wound.

5. Apparatus for winding a coil of strip comprising a member forreceiving strip material to be coiled, means for rotatably driving saidmember, means for feeding strip material thereto and a feeding mechanismfor placing spacers against the inner surface of the strip materialintermittently in order to be wound into the coil of strip being formed,said spacer-feeding mechanism comprising a hopper for containing asupply of spacers, a pivoted arm with a suction cup at the end thereof,mechanism driven synchronously with the aforesaid rotatable drivingmechanism for alternately deiiecting said arm toward the hopper andtoward the strip of material which is passing into the coil being formedand for momentarily producing relative movement in the approachingdirection between said hopper and said suction cup when the arm is inthe first of said alternate deflected positions and then between saidsuction cup and the strip when the spacer feed arm is in the second ofits alternate deflected positions, means for applying a vacuum when saidsuction cup is in proximity to the spacer hopper, and means forreleasing said vacuum when the suction cup carrying the spacer is inproximity to the strip of material passing into the coil.

6. Apparatus for winding strip material into a coil comprising a memberfor receiving strip material to be formed into a coil, means forrotating said member, means for supplying strip material to saidrotating member, mechanism for intermittently placing spacers againstthe inner surface of the strip material before it reaches the coil ofstrip, means for temporarily holding said spacers, and means forreleasing them at predetermined intervals.

7. In a machine for assembling separate pieces with a structure beingformed and intermittently feeding and placing said pieces, pneumaticpiece-handling apparatus comprising a movable member including a suctioncup, a hopper for containing pieces to be handled, a mechanism forintermittently bringing the suction cup and the uppermost piece in thehopper in contact for picking up one of said pieces and mechanism formoving the suction cup into position for assembling such a piece withthe structure being formed, a source of driving power connected to theaforesaid mechanism with means for disconnecting said power, a suctionor vacuum line.

ausser means for connecting said vacuum line to the suction cup when thesuction cup and hopper are in proximity, said power disconnecting meanscomprising a pair oi' serially connected switches arranged to disconnectpower by operation of both switches, means for temporarily operating oneof said switches after the vacuum line has been connected to saidsuction cup for picking up a piece, the other of said switches being avacuum switch connected to said vacuum line andv arranged to operate inresponse to failure of vacuum whereby failure of said suction cup topick up a piece to be assembled results in lack of vacuum at the vacuumswitch at the time when the first-mentioned switch is operated andwhereby the circuit to the power disconnecting means is operated andpower is shut down to prevent further operation of the apparatus untilfailure of the supply of pieces to be picked up is corrected. l

8. Apparatus for winding magnetic strip material into an elongated coilof strip comprising an elongated mandrel, means for rotating the mandrelto wrap strip material around it, means for supplying strip material tothe coil being wrapped around the mandrel, said means for rotating themandrel comprising a source of mechanical power having a substantiallyuniform speed of rotation and having a pair of elliptical gearsinterposed between it and the mandrel in order to vary the instantaneousspeed of angular rotation of the mandrel to minimize the variations inperipheral speed of the strip being coiled on the mandrel.

9. In apparatus for assembling separate pieces with a structure beingformed and placing such pieces at intervals, a movable pick-up armcarrying at the end thereof a suction cup adapted to be brought intocontact with a piece to be picked up, mechanism for moving said arm backand forth between a pick-up position and an assembling position, ahopper for pieces to be picked up in proximity to said pick-up position,mechanism for applying suction to said suction cup when the cup is inthe pick-up position and for cutting off said suction and applying airpressure when the cup is in the assembling position. and means fortemporarily and successively holding the separate pieces in assemblywith the structure at the desired intervals until the pieces are tightlybound in the structure.

10. Apparatus for winding strip material into y a coil comprising amandrel, means for rotating it, means for supplying strip material to acoil being wrapped around the mandrel, mechanism for intermittentlyfeeding spacers against the inner surface of the strip before it iswound on to the coil, including means for correlating the timing of thespacer feed to the angular position of the mandrel having means forprogressively varying said correlation.

11. Apparatus such as set forth in claim 10 including an indexingmechanism for controlling the rate of variation in the correlationbetween the timing of the spacer feed and the mandrel rotation, saidindexing mechanism having a cam or index surface cut with a curved shapeto produce a predetermined change in the variations in spaced feedingtime and coil rotation to correct for variations in angularity of thecoil of strip being wound.

12. A coil winding machine comprising a rotatabJe member around which acoil of strip is to be wound, means for supplying strip material to formsuch a coil around the rotatable member.

a mechanism for intermittently placing spacers against the inner surfaceof the strip material for y causing such spacers to be wound into thecoil of strip being formed. and magnetomotive force producing means formagnetically attracting said 5 spacers against the inner surface of thestrip material to hold them in place until wound into the said coil ofstrip.

13. A coil winding machine comprising a member for receiving stripmaterial to be coiled.

means lfor rotatably driving said member,

means for supplying strip material to form a coil around the rotatablydriven member. mechanism driven synchronously with said mst-mentioneddriving means for intermittently placing lo rotatable member is driven.

THEODOREL. WINISTOCK.

